St. Patrick's Day 5K Music Mix

Get into the holiday spirit with this fast and festive race playlist.

Welcome to the first edition of Running Playlists, a new column featuring themed soundtracks to pump up your weekend runs. Check back every Friday for another selection of recommended songs, and by all means, suggest tracks in the comments below. Have an idea for a playlist theme you’d like to see here? Email playlists@runnersworld.com.

St. Patrick’s Day is a perfect holiday for racing, provided you’re in the right frame of mind. It might not be your best chance to get serious about breaking a PR, but if you’re down for a general party vibe—and prepared to get lost in a sea of shamrock-beaded necklaces, plastic top hats, and green compression wear—you’ll be glad you got up early and took it easy the night before.

Luckily, getting into the spirit is as easy as throwing together a St. Paddy’s Day running playlist. This one includes Celtic-themed songs from the U.S., Ireland and anywhere Irish heritage, bagpipe proficiency and wanton consumption of Jameson (Hey, those are the lyrics!) are celebrated year-round.

So add a few tracks to your mp3 player, and get pumped to run a fast and festive 5K this week. …Because at some point you’ll probably be offered a green jello shot mid-race, and you’ll need the extra motivation to sprint toward it or in the opposite direction.